Monday, May 5, 2014

CES may have been a few months back, but that doesn't mean that there weren't some surprises that you may have missed. Conventions like that one are pretty easy to get excited about. Every tech company you buy your gear from was at this event. Everything from tablets, to game systems, to monitors were showcased at this year's event. Branding is all about marketing. Basically, who ever has the biggest and best marketing campaign will more than likely have the better turn out for product sales. This is why, seemingly, everyone and their mother owns an Apple device. Brands like Lenovo may have been swept under the rug at this years event, but they had some pretty decent products, especially in terms of monitors!

Lenovo revealed two different versions of their ThinkVision 4K displays. Thats right! Even Lenovo is getting involved with the 4K craze. One of the ThinkVision displays is a Smart display while the other is just a monitor.

The Lenovo ThinkVision 4K 28 Smart Display is essentially an Android device and remarkably beautiful display all at the same time. The pixel resolution sits at a gorgeous 3,840 x 2,160 output. The display also happens to be touchscreen which is always a nice "touch" as well. This 28 inch monitor packs quite the load of goodies. It comes with a plethora of different ports at the base of its stand, including 3 HDMI ports, an Ethernet port, and a display port. This smart "monitor" also comes with 2 noise cancelling microphones, a 2 megapixel front facing camera, as well as 2 5-watt speakers in the monitor as well. Since this new monitor can basically run on its own as a tablet, it does come running with Android 4.4 OS. Price for this particular model will start at around $1,199. Definitely not bad for a 4K display, which essentially doubles as a tablet.

The Lenovo ThinkVision Pro 2840 4K Display is offering the same output resolution as its smart cousin. The monitor itself also features a 5ms display response time. Naturally since this model isn't going to be doubling as a tablet, the amount of ports is nearly doubled. 5 USB ports total, along with an HDMI, MiniDisplay port, and more come ready on this model display. The monitor only model of the ThinkVision 28 also comes complete with 2 speakers, as well as a microphone jack. This monitor can also be adjusted on its swivel for better viewing for the consumer. The display can be adjusted to view in either portrait or landscape mode, and can also be moved 5 degrees towards you or 25 degrees away from you. Naturally, since this model isn't running extra features like the smart version, the price tag has been cut quite a bit. Since most 4K displays are pretty expensive, getting a 4K display for your computer at only $799 is not a bad price at all.

It's inevitable that 4K will eventually take over. It's another classic case of Blu-Ray vs. HD DVD. Everyone knew that the higher resolution was going to win. That being said, this just goes to show that there are some companies doing their best to keep up with all of the others. You should expect to see these monitors become available some time in July of this year. Here's to hoping that Lenovo starts getting the credit they deserve.